The human had decided to dedicate the following days to stabilizing the situation both in the settlement and with his allies, continuing his training, and addressing other pending matters. After negotiating with the dwarves, Alex began preparations for the upcoming trade exchange. Various questions arose in his mind about how to proceed, with the main issue being trust.
Sending a group of strangers with a cargo of high value didn't sound like something that would reassure Alex. Despite not sensing any malice from the dwarves, he wasn't that naive. On the other hand, sending a group to monitor them was destined to be ineffective. Gnolls and Resh were not accustomed to city life or understanding the intricacies of civil interactions, making it difficult for either of them to determine if the dwarves were deceiving them.
Another option was to go personally, but Alex dismissed this idea due to time constraints. The progress of the invasion was more critical, and he needed to ensure they controlled the war's tempo.
The most logical option would be to trust halfway, letting them go without anyone monitoring Alex's interests. However, providing them with a small amount of material to start their operations seemed like a reasonable compromise. Although Alex was eager to exchange the large amount of Yobel wood he had acquired by liberating the settlement, he currently had no way to use it.
"Wouldn't it be a waste to exchange so much Yobel wood, sir?" Kregash asked, confused by his superior's impatience.
"In normal circumstances, yes. However, we don't have many ways to use it effectively now. It's better to exchange it for a significant short-term benefit that allows us to continue operations on the front. We can only process small quantities of it for now," Alex replied.
"It's truly a pity," Kragash said, still catching his breath.
"Indeed, Yobel wood is an excellent magical conductor. Processed correctly, it can create both powerful magical weapons and defenses resistant to magic," Alex explained. "Enough pause, let's continue with your training. You must feel the energy of the forest—the Forest's Sigh will allow you to maintain your energy for a longer time."
Young Kragash had earned Alex's appreciation, and Alex had decided to train him along with the envoys from the matriarchs and old Resh. Alex had spent days improving his own cultivation while guiding others in theirs. He observed how challenging it was for the rest, something that took him only a few short months was an extremely long journey for the others. Most still struggled to feel the energy of the forest, a skill Alex could almost spontaneously perform.
"Sir Alex, the matriarchs are waiting for you in their hall," a Gnoll suddenly interrupted the training session Alex was overseeing.
Upon entering the hall, he found both matriarchs standing close to each other, both with a clear look of displeasure. However, Atasha's expression was much more hostile, and Alex began to notice the toll the curse was taking on her.
As Alex entered and took a seat in the central position, both matriarchs gave a short, respectful greeting.
"For the next phase of the war, you will each attack smaller settlements separately. As you can see on this map, the positions you should take are marked. According to our intelligence reports, the forces you will encounter are much smaller than those we faced here, but I recommend caution," Alex said, emphasizing the last part.
Both matriarchs knew what Alex meant by caution, and with justified reasons. The human feared, and rightly so, that the matriarchs might start overreaching in search of more sacrifices to alleviate the curse's burden.
When both matriarchs nodded at Alex's final words, he continued, "We will distribute the weapons we obtained and the new ones we've created equally between you. Each of you will have to use your own resources. However, it's imperative to consider the long term when acquiring resources."
"What is the situation with the dwarves? Were you able to secure the route with the outside?" Atasha finally asked, managing to control herself.
"Yes, I've spoken with them, and we will soon begin the exchange with the outside. Initially, it will be in small quantities, and I intend to acquire tools, weapons, and food to start developing the lands we are capturing. We must wait for them to prove their trustworthiness before trading in larger quantities and acquiring more expensive items," Alex replied.
"Why do we need to develop these lands? This cursed place is not suitable for Gnoll life. It would be enough to exploit it for all it can offer," Atarra remarked.
"You can try, but you'll condemn us all if you really do that," Alex replied, glancing at the owl that never strayed too far from him.
Atarra gave a brief glance to the owl, intimidated by its presence, refraining from her usual snorts of disapproval. "The reason we need to develop these lands is because the war in this sector is only beginning. The city we want to bring down may be the largest, but it's not the most densely populated and, therefore, not the best protected. As we advance, having more and better weapons will be the key factor in gaining momentum in the war. After all, this sector is important to us, but it's not the most valuable. We must ensure we can drive the Kron out of the Iretar Peninsula," declared Alex.
"But whatever we leave built will be used by the Resh," Atarra complained.
"That's right, and they'll pay the price for everything we leave behind. Or they might even join our cause. Do you prefer to fight entirely alone or receive reinforcements and provisions from your allies, Atarra?" Alex asked the matriarch.
"I don't trust allies. They'll return to betray you. It's better to eliminate them yourself before they do," said the old matriarch in a venomous tone.
"Here I am. What's stopping you?" Alex said simply, looking at her defiantly.
"Don't tempt me, little human," the matriarch said in her raspy voice.
"Don't doubt it, old Gnoll," Alex replied even more defiantly.
Both parties stared intensely into each other's eyes. When Atarra began to channel her magical power to instill fear in the human, he responded by circulating the energies of the forest. Although not enough to completely counter Atarra's strength, it allowed him to resist the terror emitted by the matriarch with sheer willpower.
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Finally, Alex was the first to speak. "I've banished an Eldritch Horror from this dimension. You would do well to remember that your backside is not as powerful," he said.
Atarra could feel an inexplicably powerful presence lurking in Alex's energy, and although it didn't belong to the human, it seemed always close to him.
"The forest favors him," the matriarch reminded herself. She began to recall how the Gnolls had been treated by all species, even the mystical ones, and it was clear that something or someone behind the forest favored Alex immensely. It was the only reason the Gnolls hadn't been purged from the forest and could roam freely.
Finally, the matriarch broke eye contact and left the communal house, not without accepting the paper with her future orders. Both matriarchs had learned from Alex while teaching him, and now they were quite accustomed to this command style.
"Anything else to add, Atasha?" Alex asked while still circulating his energy. His gaze was quite intimidating at the moment, and although it didn't affect her much, she couldn't help but recognize the human's strength.
"No, sir," said the young matriarch, accepting her role with her mission and leaving the communal house.
For both matriarchs, it was a strange occurrence to feel that second force hidden behind Alex's power. It was relatively obvious where it came from, even though, for some reason, it wasn't easy to detect. Alex needed to truly feel challenged for this presence to manifest.
The present owl, however, found this fact quite revealing, as she had much more knowledge of the forest and could swear she had felt that kind of energy elsewhere, although she didn't know exactly where.
The camp once again came to life and began to teem with activity. The former prisoners were given a few days to rest and were well-fed to recover slightly from their malnutrition and associated problems. However, after a week, they were required to work to earn the food they consumed and contribute to the war effort.
Although this measure might sound brutal, no one complained. The Gnolls were accustomed to brutal treatment, and for them, this was just another Monday morning. On the contrary, they were quite grateful to be able to work and contribute to the liberation of the Gnolls. Something that began to be discussed in whispers was the future formation of a Gnoll nation.
At the same time, one of Alex's speeches began to be repeated at every meeting of every Gnoll group. Due to the lack of weapons and armor, as well as other military elements, and the abundance of civilian work to be done, it had been decided (or rather, Alex had decreed) that only the best would be chosen as soldiers. They would forsake numbers and focus on quality and professionalism.
Alex hoped to form a veteran army, which was much better for his current situation, as the birth rate among the Gnolls had plummeted to abysmal levels since they had arrived in the province of Iretar. Due to the massive concentration of Gnolls, many women feared the curse and refrained from reproducing, leading to demographic stagnation.
For Alex, this was a time bomb waiting to explode in his face, another reason to expedite his recovery in order to find a way to help the Gnolls overcome the curse. Despite his strong desire to embark on the journey, a torrent of problems continued to arrive, continually delaying his trip. His role had slowly solidified as a ruler, and as such, he had to perform the duties befitting one—mediating between different factions. Whenever there was a conflict deemed irresolvable between parties (which was the vast majority), Alex was involved in the final decision.
Another facet of his rulership was giving direction to the growth of the settlements and determining how their troops would expand. While he didn't have to micromanage the training of regular soldiers, he had the power to decide the budgets and resources allocated to the various bodies emerging in the incipient army of Gnolls and Resh.
The two major additions were the powerful bows created with Acevidrio by the Dwarves who had joined Alex. With these, he was able to create a small regiment of professional Gnoll archers. On the other hand, the Resh had some methods of their own to work with Yobel wood. Although it was slow and raw, the final results were still very good, and they had also begun to create their own regiment of antimages.
Finally, in a room with four leaders in addition to Alex, everything was settled.
"Atasha, your orders for economic development won't change. You'll continue with the previous ones and the same rates," Alex said.
The young matriarch was satisfied with the situation. Although the Resh settlement was becoming small for her, there was no way she could enter Atarra's, so she would have to wait to capture her own settlement to increase the resources she gathered.
"Atarra, you've diverted too many workers to obtain Yobel wood and Garh roots. While there's no issue with the wood since we'll start exporting our excess, we can't let our food production drop too much. You have to allocate at least half of your workers to food harvesting," Alex instructed.
The old matriarch growled at Alex upon seeing her plans frustrated but nodded anyway. Atarra needed Garh roots for magical experiments, but it was challenging to obtain, and the workers involved in this task often got injured. Although rarely fatal, this industry employed many workers for very few results. However, to face another settlement and obtain a good number of Gnolls, Atarra had to admit it was better to be cautious in food production. They had already used much more of their reserves than planned, and if they didn't correct course, they would run out of emergency supplies.
"Lark, your management has been deficient in all areas. You're behind in resource gathering and Acevidrio acquisition. Also, your food production doesn't meet the quota. You need to fix your issues in the short term, or I'll be forced to take measures. Additionally, for your next assignment, you must improve the infrastructure of your settlement because once Atasha moves, we'll use it for the production of war machinery," Alex stated.
The old Resh nodded with embarrassment. He had been too lenient with his people and accommodating to their requests, and now they depended on the food production of the other factions, putting them in a precarious situation. Fortunately, he had finally recruited enough of his people, mostly soldiers, which would allow him to expand his influence zone and collect more resources safely.
"I understand. I'll rectify my mistake," Lark replied, to which Alex nodded.
The young human had been debating whether it would be necessary to replace Lark or not. Unfortunately, few Resh had shown great administrative ability to replace the old one. However, Alex couldn't afford to continue losing time, so he hoped this would serve as an ultimatum, something Lark had understood.
The last Gnoll present was Dregg, representing a revolutionary change for the other representatives. Until now, everyone had listened to Alex's orders and worked together on the final approach to their goal. However, each had great freedom in deciding how and when to fulfill their orders. With time, there was a growing number of Gnolls who accepted Alex as their true leader and were willing to receive orders only from him. This posed a significant paradigm shift for both matriarchs since the Gnolls under them only accepted their words as final. Although they weren't really worried since only about 10% of the Gnolls had accepted Alex as their leader, each matriarch had approximately 35%, and there was still a 20% of Gnolls following a matriarch but didn't really belong to that clan and hoped to join another in the future.
"Dregg, your focus will be on acquiring the herbs and roots on this list, as well as overseeing soldier training. We have few people yet, but I trust you understand the value of your task," Alex finally commanded.
The cunning Gnoll looked at the list and immediately knew where his leader's trick was. Of the dozen herbs on it, all but one were unnecessary since Alex had previously mentioned how much he needed that one for a secret project in the future.
Dregg knew that the only reason Alex had made his list public was to provide him with a pretext to buy portions of this material from others, as they were unaware of how crucial it was for Alex.
"This subordinate accepts his mission," replied Dregg.